Insecurity is the biggest roadblock to SDGs in rural Nigeria right now
If people can’t farm, can’t go to school, can’t access clinics, then SDG 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 all collapse.
Land grabbing
illegal taxation, destruction of farmlands, and IDP camps with no basic amenities directly attack: SDG 1 No Poverty, SDG 2 Zero Hunger, SDG 16 Peace & Justice.
Here’s practical advice for the Nigerian Government on next lines of action
GOVERNMENT ACTION PLAN: SECURITY
SDGs FOR RURAL NIGERIA
SECURITY FIRST
SAFE CORRIDORS FOR DEVELOPMENT” – SDG 16
Problem
Advocates, teachers, and health workers can’t access rural communities.
Action:
Community Policing and Forest Guards
Recruit and train youths from each LGA who know the terrain. Pay them well. Work with traditional rulers.
Agro-Rangers Scale Up
Expand the NSCDC Agro-Rangers to protect farms and farmers during planting/harvest season.
Intelligence and Tech
Use drones, satellite monitoring of forests, and community tip-lines. Cut off “foreign machinery” supplying arms through tighter border control with Niger, Chad, Cameroon.
Prosecute Arms Suppliers
Set up a special tribunal for arms dealers and their financiers. Name and shame.
PROTECT FARMS & LIVELIHOODS – SDG 1, 2, 8
Problem
Land grabbing, farm depreciation, illegal levies.
Action:
Farm Protection Law,
Federal and State law criminalizing taxation of farmers by non-state actors. 10-year jail term.
Land Documentation
Accelerate land titling through state GIS. When farmers have C of O, “land grabbing” becomes harder.
Input Support for IDPs
Give seeds, fertilizer, and small irrigation kits in IDP camps so they can farm safely near camps instead of depending 100% on aid.
Commodity Associations
Work with cooperatives to create “bulk purchase and bulk sale” so farmers don’t have to travel dangerous roads alone.
FIX IDP CAMPS
DIGNITY CAMPS” NOT “WAREHOUSES” – SDG 3, 4, 6
Problem
Lack of water, schools, and health in IDP camps.
Action:
Minimum Standards Act
Every camp must have water, PHC, schools, and livelihood centers within 90 days. NEMA and State and NGOs jointly audited.
Skills for IDPs
Convert part of camp into SME hubs. Tailoring, soap making, phone repair. So people don’t stay dependent.
Education Continues
Mobile schools and radio learning for children in camps. Partner with SUBEB.
Resettlement with Security
“Safe Return” program. Only return communities when the Army , Police and Civil Defense certify the area safe.
WIN HEARTS & MINDS – CUT OFF RECRUITMENT – SDG 4, 5, 10*
Problem
Youth join bandits due to poverty and no opportunities.
Action:
Rural Jobs Corps
: Massive public works – road clearing, irrigation, solar installation. Pay rural youths directly.
Deradicalization and Reintegration: For repentant fighters.
Give skills and a starter pack, not just amnesty.
Women & Youth Advocates
Fund community women leaders to be early warning systems. They hear things first.
PARTNERSHIP & ACCOUNTABILITY – SDG 17
Problem
The government cannot do it alone
Action:
LGA SDG ,Security Taskforce , Governor , Chairman, Traditional ruler , CSO and Security. Meet monthly. Track both security incidents and SDG delivery.
Fund the States
Increase security votes but tie 40% of it to measurable results: “number of farms reopened, schools reopened
International Pressure
Work with ECOWAS, UN to sanction countries/companies supplying arms and “animations” to insurgents.
THE CORE MESSAGE TO GOVERNMENT
You cannot implement SDGs in an IDP camp. You implement SDGs in a village.
So the priority is: Secure the village ,Restore the farm, Reopen the school and Then build the economy.
Without peace, there is no development. Without development, there is no peace.
– Benjamin Ibrahim writes from Lokoja, Kogi state.
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